


Grief is for the Living

by flipflop_diva



Category: Revolution (TV)
Genre: F/M, Swearing, Uncle/Niece Incest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-29
Updated: 2013-06-29
Packaged: 2017-12-16 12:41:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,287
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/862139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flipflop_diva/pseuds/flipflop_diva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He only wanted to comfort her. He never expected one conversation to change everything forever. Set after Revolution 1.11. Rated for one small instance of language.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grief is for the Living

**Author's Note:**

  * For [speakingwosound (sev313)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sev313/gifts).



> Thank you, speakingwosound (sev313), for giving me a great, yet challenging, idea to work with. I hope you enjoy!

He found her a little ways off, hidden by the shadow of a tree, only her hair illuminated by the moon above, beating a rock senseless with the butt of her gun. He stood for a while, just watching, his heart breaking for her in a way it hadn’t broken for anyone, or anything, in a long, long time.

Honestly, he thought he’d stopped caring. About anything. At least, he had intended to stop. It was a lot easier when you didn’t care. You didn’t have to see the hurt in people’s eyes or the pain on their faces. You could just do what you had to do and be done with it, go on about your life without consequence.

After Rachel, he thought he was through with caring about anyone. He had planned to be anyway. He couldn’t go through that again, especially not in this world, this life. 

But then _she_ came along, and things he hadn’t felt in years — things he hadn’t thought about in years — came rushing back.

Until here he was. Standing ten feet away, watching a girl that by all regards could be his daughter trying to murder a rock so she didn’t have to fucking feel anything.

Miles shoved his hands in his pockets, took a deep breath and stepped forward. 

“I thought I might find you here.”

Charlie pounded the butt of her gun against the rock one more time, then let it slip out of her hands. She looked up at him, her eyes narrowing into a glare.

“What are you doing here?” Her eyes looked furious, but her voice betrayed no emotion. Instead it was flat, monotone almost.

“Checking on you.”

“Why?” She reached down and picked her gun back up, resuming her senseless slaughter of the rock.

“Wanted to see if you’re okay.”

She slammed her gun against the rock. Too hard. The rock splintered and she almost dropped her weapon.

Her glare deepened.

“My brother was just killed for nothing. What do you think?”

“He wasn’t killed for nothing.”

The words were out of his mouth without hesitation. It was the only thing he could think to say.

“Really?” Her tone was biting, bitter. “It sure feels like nothing.”

She tossed her gun aside, spread her hands for emphasis. 

“Charlie,” he started.

“No,” she said. “No. You don’t get to tell me it wasn’t for nothing. Because it was. And you know it. We walked all the way across the damn Republic. For days. We watched Nora die. We risked our lives, just so we could get him back. For what? For him to be killed? Just like that? For him to die and me not be able to do anything? Tell me how that isn’t nothing.”

“He saved us,” Miles said. “He died a hero.”

“He shouldn’t have died at all.”

“That was a risk …”

Her eyes narrowed more. “Don’t tell me about risk,” she practically hissed.

“It was a risk he took.”

“He shouldn’t have taken it.”

“That wasn’t your choice to make.”

“It should have been.”

“Why? Because you’re his sister?”

“Of course because I’m his sister!” For the first time since they started talking, her voice broke. Miles felt a shot of pain surge through his chest at the sound.

He took a step toward her. She stepped back, her palms outstretched, telling him silently to stay away.

He complied. 

“You did everything you could,” he said instead.

“I didn’t do enough.” Just like that her voice was back to a monotone, the emotion gone.

Miles sighed, ran his hands through his hair. This stuff really wasn’t his forte. Comforting young women, trying to find the right thing to say. There was a reason he didn’t do this. A reason he usually ran away.

He looked behind him, back from where he had just come.

“You don’t have to stay with me.” It was as though she could read his mind, telling him what he wanted to hear. “Just go. I’ll be fine.”

He turned back to her. Every instinct in his body was telling him to leave, to run back to the compound, to find someone to fight or shoot or punch. _That_ stuff he could do.

But looking at her now, her brow furrowed, the pain beginning to seep out … he couldn’t walk away. He couldn’t.

“Maybe I want to stay,” he finally said.

She shrugged. “Whatever.”

They were both silent then, looking at each other in a wordless face off. Finally she flung herself on to the ground, pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on them.

Miles shifted awkwardly, looked once more at the compound behind him. But again, he couldn’t leave her.

He dropped down beside her. Her breaths were becoming shallow. Miles scrunched his eyes.

_Oh, god, not this._

He reached out, rested a hand on her back, the way he’d done a lifetime ago when she was just a small child. 

“It wasn’t your fault,” he said again.

She raised her head, but his hand didn’t move from where it rested. He could see the glint of tears in her eyes, even in the soft glow of the moonlight.

“Does this ever end?” she asked.

He wasn’t sure exactly what she was referring to, but he gave her the most honest answer he knew.

“I don’t know.”

“Why’d you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Help me. Agree to find Danny with me. Travel the Republic with me.”

He shrugged. “Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do? We’re family, right?”

Charlie scrutinized him. “Do you ever do what you’re supposed to do?”

“Sometimes.”

She was silent again. They both were. He took a moment to study the stars above, wishing they could give him an answer as to what would fix this situation.

“I let him down,” she finally said.

“No, you didn’t.”

“I did.”

“I think I let you down,” he told her.

She just looked at him. 

“Maybe we all let each other down,” she said.

Her voice was sad, but her eyes were intense. She was staring at him, searching his face, looking for something.

And before he knew what he was doing, his hand was moving from her back to nuzzle her cheek. Then his mouth crashed down on hers, his other hand coming up to stroke her hair.

For a few seconds, she was still, perhaps content to let it happen, perhaps too stunned to move, but then she was shoving him away, horror crossing her face.

“What are you doing?” she asked. “We can’t do that! That’s … We can’t do that!”

Miles wasn’t sure how to answer her. But looking at her, the fire in her eyes, the rage across her face … 

“Look at this world we live in,” he finally said, almost fiercely. “Look at it. Your brother died today. My nephew. For no good reason. Any of us could die at any time. None of us has any clue if we’re going to be here tomorrow.”

He sighed. “Do you really think in this world it’s so wrong to be with the only person you truly love?”

The words were out before he could regret them. Charlie’s face contorted into a look he couldn’t analyze. Her eyes felt like they were searing into his body.

“Who says I feel that way about you?” she finally said.

He shrugged. “Walk away if you don’t. We’ll never talk about it again.”

Charlie didn’t answer, just stared at him. For a second, Miles thought she might actually get up and walk away. But she didn’t. Instead she just shook her head. 

“Don’t make me regret this,” was all she said.

And she leaned forward and kissed him back.


End file.
